The Second Way Out
by mydearhenry
Summary: One mistake while travelling through the Gate and Roy and Riza find themselves in a strange world. They end up enrolled at Hogwarts and have to juggle a busy timetable while trying to find a way home. And what's this? FMA Harry Potter crossover
1. Chapter 1

The Second Way Out

_This is RoyxRiza, definitely. And well, they're in the world of Harry Potter, which should create SOME chaos. Anyway, I really don't have much to say but READ AND REVIEW! This is my first fanfic so be nice. _

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_**1.**_

Piles of books could be seen as Riza Hawkeye entered the colonel's room. Bits of chalk littered the floor and were crushed as she stepped on them. Beyond the books was Roy Mustang, on all fours, staring at a large transmutation circle. It was very complicated; Riza was having a hard time trying to figure out just what Colonel Mustang had drawn. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he studied his notes, only noticing Riza was there when she kneeled beside him and began talking.

"You know, you really are a genius."

"I already know that," said Roy. He gave his arms a stretch and smirked. Riza just smiled passively and turned her gaze to the circle. She touched its white lines and let her hand hover over the complex symbols that were drawn all over.

"What is this for anyway?" she asked.

"This particular circle," he said, slowly standing up, "is to open the Gate." Riza let out a small gasp.

"What? Open the Gate? Roy, are you crazy? I know that the Elric brothers were able to do it but…" she trailed off, afraid to say the last part.

"But they had to use sacrifices. Equivalent Exchange."

"That's right! So why are you still doing this?"

"It was an order," he said, "and besides, I've found a way to open the Gate without sacrifices."

"Did you just say an order?" Riza was in disbelief. Who was the one who said they would not listen to irrational orders? Roy even killed Pride, who was to most King Bradley. The Fuhrer! And now he was obeying an order to open the Gate. If that wasn't an irrational order, then what was? Risking his life for such a thing. She was mad.

"I'm not obeying this because it's an order, Riza. I just want to see what's beyond there. There has to be more than this. Alchemy? There has to be something out there that's even more impressive. I want to find it, learn how to use it, and then use it to get to the top." Riza was taken back by his words. She looked towards Roy and saw the determination in his obsidian eyes and smiled.

"You know, you're going to leave crease marks on that face of yours." Roy looked up, a little surprised at the comment. He was even more surprised when Riza leaned over and smoothed out the lines between his eyebrows with her thumbs. He smiled. It felt nice to know someone cared.

"So, is this project done?"

"Pretty much. I just need to test it."

"Then go to sleep. I bet this is why you looked so tired for the last few weeks. You didn't even sign one piece of paper, no matter how many times I threatened you. I suppose you were so tired you weren't scared of my gun." Said Riza, chuckling.

"I was scared. Just too tired to do anything about it." Roy smirked at his female subordinate. Shaking her head, Riza shifted her position to a more comfortable one.

"I'm thinking you're not going to sleep, are you?"

"Too true."

"Well then, are you gonna test this out or what?" asked Riza. Roy smiled at her in his cocky way. He placed his hands on the transmutation circle and closed his eyes. The room was soon filled with blue light.

A hole started to open in the middle of the circle. Roy's face was filled with excitement while Riza was in awe. The hole was getting bigger, a pale yellow light shone through it. The two officers faced each other and smiled widely. They didn't notice the small, skinny black hands that were crawling out of the hole until it was too late. One grabbed Roy by the leg and slowly pulled him in. Soon numerous black hands had gotten hold of him dragging him in. Roy was in terror and frantically tried to grab on to something, anything that could keep him from being dragged in any further. Riza tried to reach Roy, his terrified face scared her. Her attempts were futile as Roy disappeared, only the tips of his hair were visible. The subordinate made her decision. She ran towards the shrinking hole and jumped in, bumping into the colonel's shoulder. She grabbed onto his arm, doing her all not to let go. The arms crept towards her and wrapped themselves around her as well. The sounds of 'fool' echoed around her. Then everything turned white as she found herself with Roy, staring at the Gate.

It was open and the two of them saw millions of eyes just staring at them. It was eerie.

"Roy," whispered Riza. "Is this for real?"

"I think so… Should we see what on that other side?" Riza reached for Roy's arm and held tightly, making sure he was still there, before nodding her head. They walked into the Gate, into the infinite black. When the gate doors closed the two officers began to speed towards the other side. Information was being crammed into their heads to the point of extreme pain. That was when Roy realized a stray hand was encircling Riza's hand. It dawned on him that it was trying to rip her hand off. Without thinking he used alchemy just by putting his hands together; just like Ed. He blew the black hand apart when he grasped it but another made its way to Roy and removed something from him, but he was too alarmed at something else to notice.

The shock of the alchemic reaction had driven the two officers off course. They were speeding off into another direction. All of a sudden information that didn't make any sense to them flooded into their brains. Then a plain wooden door appeared in front of them. It was another way out. The two of them exchanged shocked and confused looks. Then, right before the reached the door, the information got too much for them. Both fainted. The last of Roy's thoughts was _'magic?'_

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_A/N: Good or no good? I'm just writing this story for fun but it'd be nice if I got some feedback. ) Tell me if I should continue with the story or not. Please and Thank you!_


	2. Chapter 2

_-Hello again! The second chapter is up. This story is slowly progressing and I'm hoping to get lots of reviews! I think I left the disclaimer out in the beginning and since I'm too lazy to edit chapter one… I'll put it here.-_

_**Disclaimer (as promised): I don't own FMA or Harry Potter. So there**._

_Now onward and enjoy the story!_

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_2._

Roy was greeted by a long grey beard when he finally woke up.

"RIZA!" he yelled, bolting out of bed, startling many young teenaged people. He looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings, deducing he was in a hospital room. A cough came from behind him. Roy turned around and came face to face with the tallest grandpa he had ever seen.

"Ah, you're awake. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this place," said the strange man. He was wearing a strange purple cloak with silver stars. "And this is Hogwarts, a school of-"

"A school of magic for young witches and wizards," Roy blurted out. He covered mouth with his hands in shock.

"I see. So you know much about the magical world here?" inquired Dumbledore.

"Yeah…" mumble Roy, unsure of how he had acquired all the information about an unknown place. He suspected he even knew every person's name.

"Then I have no need to explain everything to you. We, the other professors and I, decided last night to enroll you into Hogwarts until you find a way to get back to your own homes. I won't make you tell me how you got here and what you have to do. That, you can keep to yourselves if you wish. You will pretend to be two exchange students from a small school in the south. Hagrid the Gamekeeper has already collected the supplies you will need this year; although you will still need to go out and buy a wand. A bank account has already been open for you and some money has been withdrawn. I will send that to you by owl when you are introduced to the school. Understood?" Dumbledore looked down on Roy waiting for his answer.

"Yes, sir." That was all Roy could say. Then he remembered something extremely important. "Riza. Where's Riza?"

Dumbledore waved his hand in the direction of the next bed. Sure enough, Riza was there, sleeping away. Roy sighed at the sight of her and walked over to her side. Grabbing a stool he silently sat beside her and watched her closed eyes.

"One more thing, um…"

"It's Roy Mustang."

"Yes, one more thing Roy. When you are all better, Madam Pomfrey will escort you to the Grand Hall so that we can introduce you and your friend, Riza, and so that we can sort you into your houses. And Roy, you don't need to be so frightened by all this. We, the professors and I, will definitely watch out for you," said Dumbledore as he prepared to leave. Roy looked up at the old man and nodded. With a small smile, Dumbledore left the room.

Several hours later, Riza woke up to find Roy sleeping at the side of her bed. He lifted his head and smiled when he felt her shift.

"Hi, Riza." Riza looked around in wonder.

"Don't worry. We're safe in this place," assured Roy.

"Are you sure?" asked Riza a little uncertain.

"Yeah. You should know this is a school right?" Riza nodded her head and Roy continued, "Well it seems like both of us know everything about this place. I'm guessing we know every person and secret in this world, but most of the knowledge is in our subconscious. It's probably all the information that was crammed into our heads when we traveled through the Gate."

"Yes, I believe that too sir."

"Sir?" said Roy puzzled, "Why are you so formal all of a sudden?"

"I'm sorry. There are people around and I only call you Roy when it's just the two of us. So…"

"Oh, it's a force of habit I suppose. Well, I want to you stop with the formalities. That's an order, Lieutenant," said Roy, smirking. Riza raised an eyebrow but soon broke into laughter. Roy joined her and they both laughed loudly unaware of the trouble they were getting into.

"Quiet both of you!" said a stern Madam Pomfrey. She glared at the two officers. "You are disturbing my patients and—" But she didn't have a chance to finish. Roy had let out a gasp and fell over his stool, clutching his stomach. Riza was franticly saying "Do something!". She was scared of losing Roy.

Half an hour later, Madam Pomfrey came back with a bottle of revolting purple liquid.

"Drink this," she ordered Roy, "Apparently your liver has disappeared. As though it was ripped out. But I see no signs of those things called surgeries muggles perform. How did this happen?"

"I don't need to answer you," said Roy. Madam simply huffed and shoved the bottle into Roy's hand.

"Drink it all. It'll grow your liver back."

"I know that. But honestly woman, don't you have anything better than that? It's steaming for crying out loud," complained Roy. Riza smacked him on the head and grabbed the bottle. Under Madam Pomfrey's irritated glare, Riza force fed Roy all the contents. Sputtering, he glared at Riza while she wiped his mouth, smiling innocently.

"Young man, you should have more respect for me. I'll be the one who takes care of most of your injuries this year. Anyhow, don't overdo it with that body of yours, and don't eat or drink anything with alcohol in it. You'll have some problems with it in the first few months. Growing organs back is harder than bones," said Madam Pomfrey, "Other than that both of you are fine. Tomorrow you will go with some escorts to Diagon Alley to buy your wands. That is all." With that said, she left the room and returned to her office.

Roy and Riza looked at each other and sighed. They had only been in this world for a short time and they were both already so tired. After a moment of silence, Roy clapped his hands together.

"I forgot to tell you," started Roy, confusing Riza even more, "but we've gotten younger after we crossed the Gate. We look just like seventeen year olds!" To emphasize his statement he brought over a mirror. Riza took it and looked at her reflection. Her eyes widened as she realized Roy was telling the truth. They looked virtually the same but a little younger. She hadn't noticed before but Roy really did look younger, with fewer creases on his face due to frustration and stress. Riza looked back at the mirror. Her face was rounder, not by much, and… was that a… pimple? Frowning, she squashed the offender. She also noticed the both of them had smaller muscles. That meant all her hard earned strength was gone. She wanted to sulk in the corner. And so, she did the next best thing. She sulked on the bed, all the while poking at her arm.

"Hey, stop it. It's getting annoying," said Roy. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her arm.

"But... Colonel- I mean- Roy…" Riza didn't get to finish her sentence for both heard the door creak open and turned their heads towards it. A girl had been watching them from the door and had listened in on some of their conversation, but as soon as they saw her she squeaked and ran away. Alarmed and worried about what the girl heard, they quickly ran out and slammed the door, earning them one angry Madam Pomfrey.

:"Hey! Wait! Stop!" yelled Roy as he and Riza sprinted after her, making the girl run harder.

"This isn't working…" Riza said while turning into another corridor. Roy grunted in agreement and ran harder. He had an idea of what to do.

Ed was able to do a transmutation with out a circle and Roy had wanted to know why. After many nights of thinking and reading he had come up with one conclusion: Ed had been inside the Gate. Now that Roy himself had traveled through the Gate, he was positive his theory was correct. That meant he could do alchemy without a circle as well, although, he wasn't quite sure if this place had his kind of alchemy. Nicolas Flamel had used alchemy with Dumbledore to create the Philosophers stone… but that wasn't possible without many human lives and he didn't have any knowledge of anything of the sort happening. 'Did Equivalent Exchange even apply here?' he thought. Roy ran even faster with Riza barely being able to catch up.

As soon as he caught sight of the girl he clasped his hands together, just as he had seen Ed do countless times, and smacked his hand against the wall. A blue light was emitted and instantly a wall formed in front of the girl. She gasped in surprise and fell back. As she turned her head to face Roy, he saw that she wore an expression of fear and he softened.

Roy walked towards the girl and saw she was about 17. Her hair was wavy and brown and she wore the colours of a Gryiffindor. He held out a hand to help her up. She slapped it away a stood up herself, ridding Roy of any feelings of compassion towards her. When she tried to run away again, he pulled her arm, forcing her to fall into the opposite wall, and pinned her there. Riza had caught up and she stood behind him.

"What did you hear?" he demanded. The hostility in his voice made her flinch and move sideways. Bad move. The shift in position caused her to hit a bruise she acquired when Roy pinned her down. Tears sprung in her eyes and she shivered in fright.

"What did you hear?" repeated Roy, his voice raised a little more. The girl then suddenly started sobbing. She hated him. She was furious. Riza put a hand on Roy's shoulder and indicated for him to stop. Sighing, Roy released his hold on the girl. The girl, seeing her chance, sprung up to punch him but Riza was quicker. In one swift move, she redirected the girl's fist to the wall, breaking the skin on the knuckles, and then promptly felled her and pinned her to the ground.

"Don't," she whispered warningly to the girl. The girl whimpered and nodded her head. Footsteps were then heard approaching. Two boys who seemed to be in seventh year rounded into the corridor. One had jet black hair and glasses while the other had brilliant red hair and freckles. All three turned their heads towards them.

"Hermione!" gasped the two in unison and ran towards the fallen girl. Riza got off her and walked back towards Roy, who had been standing there with his eyes wide at her sudden action. They looked at the two boys and the girl who was now standing. The boys were glaring at them but that didn't faze the two officers. They simply turned their backs on them and were walking away when the red head growled and charged at them. Riza stepped in front of Roy and got ready to counter any attack when the girl, apparently called Hermione, told the boy to stop. He looked questioningly at her but returned to her side.

Roy and Riza walked out of the corridor with the other three glaring at them. The trio knew nothing about the two peculiar people except that they hated them.

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_-OOH… The introduction of the trio. I feel bad about doing that to Hermione, but it can't be helped. I'm sorry! She was a little OOC though.. I think. Anyways… the feelings of hostility begin. Oh Roy, Riza, don't you know you shouldn't anger the Boy-Who-Lived and co.? (Ron: What do you mean "and co."! We have names!)-_


	3. Chapter 3

_-Yes! Yet another chapter from me! Read and Review please.-_

_**Disclaimer (yet again): None of the characters are mine. That is, until I become dictator of the world.**_

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3.

It was the next day and even though Roy was still not better, he and Riza had snuck out of the hospital wing. They took off their military jackets and wore only their black coats to be less conspicuous. Then they followed some students to Hogsmeade. The two of them walked into a bright shop.

Sweets. Roy never really got to appreciate them since he entered the military. Yet, he found himself in the most wonderful sweet shop he had ever seen with Riza. He supposed some good came out of this accidental adventure.

The young black haired alchemist chuckled at his companion as she browsed the colourful, sugary shelves. Her mouth was half open at the sweet candy. She never seemed like a person who would like sweets. Roy walked over to her and pulled her towards him, waking her up from her Candyland dream. She blushed at their closeness and pushed him away.

"Want one?" he asked. Riza turned and smiled at Roy. He nudged her towards the other shelves so that she could pick out something and then went to look for something for himself as well. Although most of the colourfully wrapped candy and chocolates looked and sounded pleasant, there were some that Roy definitely wanted to avoid.

"Cockroach Clusters?" said Roy aloud, his tone made it clear he didn't want to try some. Riza heard him and came over to examine what Roy had found.

"Um…" was all she had to offer. The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. Dropping the disturbing piece of candy, they walked to the shelves that were full of Every Flavour Beans.

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Meanwhile the Hogwarts Golden Trio was drinking Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks. They were discussing what had happened yesterday. Hermione sat in between her two friends who were, at the moment, fussing over her hand.

"Bloody git. What kind of guy beats up a girl?" said Ron, angrily. His ears were red. Hermione simply brought her bottle to her lips and took a sip. Harry motioned to Ron saying to stop. Ron backed off a little but he was still furious at Roy.

"Hermione, why did they attack you?" asked Harry, gently, in an almost father-like way. Hermione hung her head so that her hair covered part of her face. Her hands folded in her lap, she mumbled, "I don't know.

"But I do know that they're not like us. They're… different. Neither wizard nor muggle."

"That's not possible though!"

"Why not? You saw them! They were wearing uniforms that seemed to be from a military organization, but there are no armies with that uniform! The boy called the girl 'Lieutenant' and she called him 'Colonel'! That has to mean something! I don't think the titles were just nicknames, the way they said them… And, they acted older than seventeen, most of the time, and even though they looked seventeen that guy said something that must have meant they weren't really that young. And…and… that boy used something like wandless magic! He just clapped his hands together and touched the wall," Hermione imitated the gesture, "and then a split second later a huge wall appeared out of nowhere!" Harry and Ron were in deep thought.

"Are you sure you heard everything correctly?" asked Ron, "That black haired creep could just be a super ultra powerful wizard." The other two gave him a look that implied he had lost his mind.

"Well, we can't knock that theory… but it doesn't satisfy me," said Harry, "If he was that powerful, then why is he in Hogwarts? And in the hospital as well?"

"I remember he had to take a potion. Apparently he had lost an organ," said Hermione. Harry looked up in surprise, but Ron was deep in thought. His expression was serious.

"What if…" he started, catching his friends' attention, "What if he works for You-Know-Who?" Harry almost choked on his Butterbeer.

"What!"

"Sure, he could be a spy for You-Know-Who. Him and that girl. You-Know-Who could have removed his liver because he refused at first!" All Hermione and Harry could do was stare. They looked at each other and thought the same thing. _'Paranoid Ron.'_

"I don't want to think about them anymore, let's just go and take a walk. There's some fresh snow near the Shrieking Shack," said Hermione. The two boys agreed. They paid for their drinks and left.

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"Hey Roy?" said Riza as she and Roy left the shop with a bag full of assorted candy and chocolates, "Do you want to go for a walk in the snow? I haven't done that in a while." It was true. Ever since Riza joined the military, snow was usually just an obstacle to get through to get to work. She rarely got a chance to appreciate it and have fun.

Roy looked thoughtful. Then, without warning, he smashed a snowball right on top of Riza's head. At first, her face had a surprised expression, but that soon changed into a mischievous grin. She ran away and hid. Roy, bewildered, took a while to sort out what had just happened before setting out to look for her. He knew she could take care of herself. The reason he needed to find her was… she had the candy in her bag. He was now fond of those lollipops they had bought.

Riza was walking now, wondering how long it would take Roy to find her. She was having a nice quiet time to herself when a certain platinum blond spotted her. He nudged his two big idiot friends and nodded towards her. The three of them smirked and walked towards her.

"Hey, name's Draco Malfoy. And what's your name?" he asked, using his smooth talk, "A girl like you shouldn't be walking alone. Want to accompany me?" Riza looked indifferently at him.

"Not interested." Riza continued walking.

"Don't be like that. You don't need to be shy," said Malfoy. He grabbed her arm. Riza, her instinct taking over, turned around and flipped him on his back. Malfoy was mad; he instantly got up and pointed his wand at her. His two thugs, Crabbe and Goyle, cracked their knuckles menacingly. Riza stood firm.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were coming over a hill that overlooked the spectacle below. They stopped when they saw the situation Riza was in. However, none of them knew it was Riza because her back was turned to them. Ron nudged Harry and nodded his head toward Riza. Grinning, he puffed up his chest and walked confidently down the hill. Harry and Hermione walked slowly behind, mentally shaking their heads.

Malfoy made the first move. "Stupefy!" A streak of red light was aimed towards Riza. The fast-moving (ex?) officer was about to dodge when she heard another voice from behind shout something. She closed her eyes, waiting for the spells to hit her. When the impact didn't come, she opened her eyes slowly. As it turned out, the second person had protected her. When she turned around she came face to face with Ron.

"YOU!" yelled Ron. He jumped back and aimed his wand at her. She leaped at him and swiped the wand out of his hand. When he tried to take it back, she pinned him to the ground, forcing his face into the snow. Seeing this, his friends ran up to them to defend him. Hermione grabbed a pile of snow and molded it into a ball. She threw it at Riza and it would have made its mark if a sudden burst of flame hadn't melted it first. Everyone was surprised and confused. Including Malfoy and his goons who were still in the corner. A tall and eye catching figure entered the little battlefield. His black eyes scanned the surroundings before walking to Riza and helping her up. When he tried to help Ron as well the red head slapped his gloved hand away. Riza shook her head and smiled. Roy had kept the gloves in his pocket even when researching, so they were brought over here as well.

"Don't even try to hurt her," said Roy in a firm and dangerous voice while glaring at Hermione. She glared defiantly back. Roy broke their eye contact and asked Riza for an explanation of the event. He was amused when she told him about Malfoy making a move on her and mildly surprised at the fact that Ron saved Riza. He looked at Ron and thanked him. Ron still held an expression of contempt. Riza whispered something into Roy's ear and he turned towards Malfoy who was, sure enough, trying to get away. With a snap of his fingers, Roy created a wall of fire, blocking Malfoy's path, startling him, and melting all the snow around him. All for Roy's amusement of course.

"You…Freak!" spat Malfoy, "What are you? Doing wandless magic… You don't belong here!" He threw a snowball at Roy in an attempt to humiliate him. However, the snowball melted before it got near the target. Roy drew nearer to Malfoy who cowered in fear.

"Don't mess with fire;" said Roy, "You'll just get burned."

The trio was amazed at Roy's flames and a little nervous as well. He wouldn't kill Malfoy, would he? Even though Malfoy was their enemy, they didn't want him killed. Much to their relief, Roy didn't touch Malfoy, although they thought they saw him snap. He took Riza by the arm and they walked past the three teens. As they walked past, Roy noticed the bandages on Hermione's hand and winced. He felt guilty. Hermione felt his gaze and hid her hand while glaring at Roy. He quickly looked away. He and Riza walked briskly away from the area.

"Well, that was a lot of excitement," stated Harry to no one in particular. That was when Ron noticed small clouds of smoke rise from farther ahead. Then they all heard a scream. Shocked, they scrambled ahead to find a Malfoy screaming bloody murder with his cloak on fire at the hem. Crabbe and Goyle were frantically trying to put it out. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at each other for a while. Then they burst out laughing, tears rolling down. They still hated Roy, but their respect for him just went up a little.

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Riza and Roy weren't far off when they heard Malfoy's scream as well. Riza looked at Roy in amazement and asked accusingly, "What did you do?"

Roy sheepishly laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"I set his cloak on fire." Riza smacked him on the shoulder as a way of reprimanding him.

"It was just a small one…" said Roy, defensively. But he saw Riza grinning and realized she was simple teasing him. She was actually amused. Knowing this made Roy relieved. He didn't want Riza to think of him lowly. He barely contained the urge to burn that idiot to a crisp. He had tried to flirt with Riza after all. Then a wide grin spread on Roy's face as he turned his head towards Riza. She looked up, puzzled, and possibly a little creeped out as well. He bent his head down to look at her face to face.

"So how did it feel to be hit on by a seventeen year old?"

Riza scowled. She put her hands on his shoulders and gave a good push. Roy fell down into a pile of snow.

"It's better than having _you_ hit on me."

Roy then chased after Riza saying, "That's not true. Deep down, I know you like my attention." Riza said nothing. She just smiled and kept running from him. They had to get back to the castle before Madam Pomfrey found out about their absence. And so, they continued their chase all the way back to Hogwarts, both feeling free and young as the troubles and pains in their lives was momentarily forgotten.

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_-Third chapter: DONE. I hope not much of the story has the characters OOC. Tell me if they are and I'll work harder to keep them IN character. Thank you for all the reviews! I'm being motivated. YES! And chapter four will hopefully be soon up. Keep reading and reviewing! (PS. By the way the story starts in the season of WINTER. If you hadn't already figured it out, with the snow and all…)_


	4. Chapter 4

_-Wow! All your reviews were so encouraging! Thanks to all those who took their time to send me such awesome comments. I was so flattered. ) _

**DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE! NOT MINE! NOT MINE! NOT MINE! Good enough?**

**4.**

Roy waited nervously in a room, waiting to be called. Riza was seated beside him in a small, hard, wooden chair. She was fidgeting. With them were the new first-years; they kept glancing at the pair as if afraid. The chatter of the students in the Great Hall was carried all the way to the room. Riza continued to fidget in her seat, tugging on her black robes. Roy understood why. The robes they were expected to wear were looser than what they were used to. Luckily, they had uniforms as well. Dress shoes, pants and a collared shirt with a sweater. It was simple enough. Riza's was very much the same, except for one thing. A skirt. This was added to Roy's list of positive outcomes from this adventure. To pass the time, Roy took out his new wand and examined it.

Hagrid had taken them out to shop for their robes and wands just an hour after the two had returned from their little adventure in Hogsmeade. At first his large build startled the two but they had learned he was half-giant and he soon grew on them. He was very similar to Major Armstrong in size after all, just take away the muscles. They were confused when Hagrid took them to a fireplace. Roy had expected a car or a bus. As if she had read his mind, Riza asked his question out loud. Hagrid simply laughed and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "Muggles and their troublesome gadgets." It was then that 'Floo powder' flashed across Roy's mind.

"We're going by floo powder?" he asked. He did not know what to expect, he had never experienced that form of transportation. Riza looked at his quizzically. He realized she was surprised at how he knew what they were going to do. He explained to her again what he told her during their stay in the hospital.

"Remember how I told you that when we crossed the Gate information was crammed into our minds? Well, somehow we retained all that information so we know everything there is to know about this world."

"But neither of us knew right away that we were going to take floo powder," whispered Riza.

"True, but remember what I said? Most of the information is in our subconscious. Because of that, there are many things we aren't consciously informed of. That is a dangerous thing as well. We have to pretend to know about the everyday things that the people here talk about or else we won't blend in. However, you have to be careful not to leak out any thing that no one is supposed to know about. Dangerous stuff, like the Dark Arts. I'm thinking that things like that are in our subconscious mind, meaning we could leak it out while we're asleep. So be careful Riza," Roy looked at his companion seriously. He was worried for her.

Hagrid cleared his throat and held out a bag of floo powder to them. They each took a handful. Roy was the first to enter the flames after throwing his handful in.

"Diagon Alley!" said Roy, making sure to articulate the words. He then spun out of control. Telling himself to stay calm, he let the invisible force toss him around, straight into the shop of Mr. Ollivander. Dazed, he got up and dusted himself off. Riza and Hagrid soon followed. After helping Riza up, Roy took a look at the shop.

It was a dim shop, full of wands. Shelf after shelf of wands. He noticed a small aged man standing behind one of the selves. Hagrid noticed him too and walked towards him.

"Got new customers fer ya, Mr. Ollivander," he said.

"Ah, Hagrid! How are you? And how is your wand?" Hagrid reddened.

"I kept all th' pieces. But I ne'er use it o' course." Mr. Ollivander gave a nod and looked towards the two young people. He quickly took a wand and shoved it into Riza's hands.

"And what is your name miss?"

"Riza Hawkeye, pleasure to meet you sir," answered Riza, professional as usual. Roy smiled.

"Yes, yes… Willow; 12inch; tail hair of unicorn. Swishy. Give it a try." Riza tightly gripped the wand and waved it. Nothing happened.

"Quite all right, quite all right. Try this…" Wand after wand was handed to Riza as she swished them around. Finally, she had a match. Mahogany; 11inch; tail hair of unicorn. It was now Roy's turn. A wand was instantly shoved into his hands after he had introduced himself. It didn't work when he waved it. Wand after wand was shoved into his hands, but none of them fit him right. Then, on his eighth try, a shower of sparks was emitted from the end of his wand. A tingly sensation spread in his stomach. He had felt power, but was strangely disturbed by it.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" said Mr. Ollivander, snapping Roy out of his thoughts. "Birch; 13inch; phoenix feather." He wrapped both wands and handed them back to their owners. Hagrid paid the man and the three of them left to buy school robes.

The rest of the day was tedious, seeing as Roy was a male and wasn't terribly interested in robes. Neither was Riza. Being a tomboy made her less interested in the clothes department than most girls, especially if she had to buy wizarding robes. However, neither of them fell asleep during their stay at .

After 3 more hours at Diagon Alley, Hagrid took the two back to Hogwarts. They loitered around deserted halls, not wanting to meet anyone just yet. At around seven in the evening they found themselves where they are now. A classroom with first years (they were being sorted late for the Sorting Hat had gone missing, a mission of some sort they say).

"Hey, Hawkeye. Remember what I said about the information and our minds?" asked Roy absentmindedly after surveying his surroundings.

"Yes si- _Mustang_."

"Well, I'm glad that knowledge about spells is in our conscious mind. We're supposed to be introduced as seventh years. I wouldn't want to be stuck with these midgets."

"Sir," said Riza. She looked towards Roy. Roy was a little afraid and wondered what he did wrong this time. "That's mean."

Roy almost laughed in relief and amusement at what she said. He saw a smile tug at her lips. She raised a finger and pointed at the group of first years. Roy looked at them and was taken aback. All of them were staring at him; some of the bolder ones narrowed their eyes. One stepped out of the crowd. He had light brown hair and cold, piercing, grey eyes. Roy just blinked when the boy spoke up.

"Who're you calling midgets?"

Roy wanted to laugh, he was ready to burst, but when Riza nudged him in the ribs, he knew that wasn't wise. Instead, he cleared his throat and apologized to them. Still, many of the first-years seemed ready to kick him where it hurts. Except for the girls. Roy realized that the girls never took offence at his words. They were huddled in the corner and constantly giggled while repeatedly glancing at him. Roy looked at his subordinate and pointed to them group of girls as if to say 'Is this for real?' Riza smiled and conjured up a bag of chocolates.

"The boys still want your blood." Roy took the hint and passed out the chocolates telling them to hide them; he didn't know if he was allowed to give them chocolate and he wasn't about to risk finding out.

Riza noticed how Roy slightly flinched at her wand. He hadn't touched his own wand since they bought it and she saw how he hastily dropped it into his pocket when he did take it out for that night. The truth was that Roy didn't think too fondly of magic. It seemed like too much power. A power almost without limits. Alchemy had its principles- Equivalent Exchange for example- that kept it from becoming too powerful, too godlike, and its limits were close enough as well. However, magic was too free. It had almost no restrictions whatsoever. Its limits barely held it back. It could even bring near dead things back to life. Where did they get the energy or the matter to create something? Everything was simply created by the flick of a wand. It made Roy feel almost sick. Magic didn't make any sense. It turned everything he knew to be right upside down. As a scientist, everything had to make sense. Elements were always the basic ingredients; you could never make them from something else. And yet, magic did not care for any of these rules. It smashed them and blew them away like insignificant things. And to Roy, that was unacceptable. eHe

However, he decided to use magic during school to blend in, for Riza's sake if not for anything else. He was the one who got her into this mess and he would get her out. But, he resolved not to use that power unless he had to.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall entered the room and interrupted Roy's thoughts.

"First years follow me," she said, then looking at the two older students, "You will come later." She then briskly led the first years out, the girls giggling at the back. Roy and Riza waited for what seemed like another eternity, their stomachs fluttering with anxiety. Finally, Professor McGonagall re-entered. It was their turn.

The two new Hogwarts students made their way towards the Great Hall. The noise of the students' chatter got louder as they approached the large doors. With a fairly loud 'boom', the professor opened the doors and led then inside. All the students were quiet and focused their gaze on the two unfamiliar faces. Roy looked straight at the front, his gaze never wavering to meet any of the people's eyes. It was only when they reached the stool and Sorting Hat did he turn around to look at the rest of the school. The males looked at him apprehensively, while some glared. They felt trouble from him. However, the females had a very different reaction. The girls immediately fawned over him. Calls of 'Go out with me!' and 'Meet me later!' were directed at him. Roy simply ran his fingers through his hair, which caused the girls to grow louder. Riza stood, firm and silent, behind him; but inside she was sulking. These girls knew nothing about Roy, and they didn't know that Roy was hers to protect. Her face went red when she realized what had just gone through her mind. As Riza scanned the crowd, she saw the three people that they had met twice already. The girl- _Hermione, was it? -_ noticed Riza looking at her and returned her gaze. She was the only one not screaming for Roy. Dumbledore cleared his throat and Riza looked away. The whole school was silent.

"These two new faces are exchange students from another small school of wizards and witches much like Hogwarts. They will be in their seventh year. Please welcome Mr. Roy Mustang and Ms. Riza Hawkeye, although many of you have already welcomed Mr. Mustang with great enthusiasm. I expect you to help them get used to our school. Now," said Dumbledore, turning to face Roy and Riza," we will finish the sorting with you."

Riza was first. She sat on the stool and obediently placed the old ragged hat on her head. After a long time, the Sorting Hat finally opened its brim wide and yelled 'GRIFFINDOR!' The red and gold house cheered as Riza walked down to their table, all except Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Then it was Roy turn. The Great Hall became silent as Roy slipped the Sorting Hat onto his jet black hair.

**_'So, I see you're very courageous and loyal under that arrogant exterior,'_** said the hat, **_'But you are also cunning and intelligent. You're no dumb kid. And you work hard too! What a choice…'_**

_'Just get it over already…'_ complained Roy in his thoughts.

**_'Impatient too I see,'_** then the hat frowned. Well, not REALLY, but Roy could feel the brim sag, **_'Lots of secrets… You're not really a child are you? How troubling… you're past seems to be very… yes well, enough of that. What will it be? Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw? Of course, if you wish for power, Slytherin would be a good choice as well. Now, where shall we put you?'_ **The murmuring voices increased.

'_Put me ANYWHERE,' _said Roy, then he thought a bit, _'No, let me stay by Riza…'_

**_'Hmm… your loyalty. I suppose it would be the same in any other house. Then, from now you are in-'_**

"GRIFFINDOR!" yelled the Sorting Hat. The table erupted in cheers. The other houses were disappointed, even the males, because, although Roy seemed trouble, he also seemed powerful. Roy walked to the long table and sat beside Riza who was smiling. Ginny Weasly leaned over the table to get another glimpse of the handsome newcomer. Ron pulled her back.

"Don't go near that guy," warned Ron, "He's nothing but trouble and he's dangerous."

"Yeah Ginny," chimed in Dean Thomas, "He looks like a heartbreaker, that one."

Still Ginny sighed. "I'm so envious of that Hawkeye. She gets to be so close to him…" The trio shook their heads, they knew how dangerous he was, and how powerful as well. He wasn't someone they would oppose so easily.

It was getting late and only the sixth and seventh years remained in the Gryffindor common room. The fire was burning quietly and it cast a warm flow on the faces of the remaining students. Harry and his friends sat by the big comfy armchair while discussing the new and mysterious students.

"But he's so handsome! His raven black hair, obsidian eyes… they're so mysterious…" said Ginny.

"He's dangerous I tell you. Stay away from him. All the girls are smitten with him, but that proves their not smart," said Ron.

"Ron's right Ginny, he's dangerous and has awesome power."

"What kind of power? I mean, what can he do?" inquired Ginny. Hermione explained.

"The first time I saw him, he attacked me. Look," said Hermione, showing Ginny her bandaged hand, "All he had to do was clap his hands together and touch the wall to create another one in the middle of the corridor! It's mad! And the next time was even more frightening, he created fire just by snapping his fingers. He could possibly even harm Voldemort!"

"It's true, although the last part might be exaggerating it a bit," commented Harry. Ginny didn't seem to hear any of it. Her eyes were glued on Roy, who was, at the moment, talking to Riza.

Riza patted Roy on the arm and passed him a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote down a quick message, got up, and walked towards Harry's group. Riza followed. The group looked up at him, everyone but Ginny glared at him suspiciously. His expression remained passive as he handed the folded piece of paper to Hermione and walked away, hands in his pockets. The whole group was curious and stared at the white piece of paper.

"Come on Hermione, show us what he wrote!" urged Ron. Harry nodded vigorously. Hermione held the note close to her.

"No Ron. It's a note to _me._ I'd rather not share it with anyone." Hermione's statement brought out many complaints but she simply walked up to her dormitory. Only when she sat down on her bed did she open the note. Suspecting an insult of some sort, she opened it quickly, ready to throw it out. But what was written in it took her by surprise.

_Sorry._

The simple word was somehow so sincere, it warmed Hermione's heart. She smiled. Perhaps she could forgive him after all.

_- So… is it going okay? I think I'm getting lazier with this story. P Maybe I'll get more energy if I have some more reviews… hint hint. Okay, so hopefully the characters weren't so OOC. Sorry if anything that I described is wrong. I was to lazy to check. I'm still working on that. Aaaannnddd… I'll be replying any questions etc. here. Right here. Er… maybe at the top. Anyhow, I hope people are enjoying this story! Chapter 5 coming sooooon!- _

_EDIT I edited this chapter again. Fixing up an error I found in my story timeline. Heheheheh… _


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks_ _to all for your awesome reviews! Keep them coming to keep this author happy! I was already finished with chapter 5 when I uploaded chapter 4. I was just seeing if I could tweek it a little. Somehow it didn't turn out the way I wanted. More description perhaps? I don't know, you tell me what I need to improve. In the meantime... on with the show, er, story._

_**Disclaimer: SO not mine.**_

**_5_**.

It was the first class of the year, and Roy was already bored. The stuffy History of Magic classroom was full of half sleeping students. Even Riza seemed less attentive than usual. Roy somehow knew it would be a long period. He tuned out the ghost professor's droning voice and looked out the window. It was a nice clear day, and Roy felt like going for a walk. Rays of sunlight illuminated his face and floating dust sparkled in the bright and warm light. His ebony black hair shone. Little did Roy know that someone was watching him from across the room.

Hermione Granger was a studious little soul who was frightened of failure in academics. She couldn't bear to miss any classes or ignore any notes; they also might end up as useful information for when the trio were in trouble. However, this time, her mind wasn't on notes. She forgot about her surroundings and the lesson, even though she knew she would feel bad later. Instead of writing, she observed the face of Roy Mustang.

His face was slightly round like a child's, but was also mature. His face was usually smirking or held an expressionless face. This time he looked bored. Hermione shook her head when she realized that she thought it to be cute. Harry gave her a weird look. Hermione resumed watching Roy. His eyes were so different from how he acted. They were weary and they seemed to tell tales of sorrow and hurt. Those midnight black eyes had seen too much, they were hardly eyes of a seventeen year old. She pulled out a worn piece of paper that had been refolded many times. She opened it and read his note to her again. She accidentally let out a content sigh, causing Harry to look at her strangely. Hermione gave him a 'what do you want?' look and so he turned away, slightly suspicious of Roy. Turning back to her piece of parchment, Hermione began to take notes, cursing herself for being distracted.

Harry threw a piece of paper on Ron's desk to catch his attention; he knew Professor Binns wouldn't notice or care. Ron leaned over to Harry.

"So? What did you want to talk about? It better be important, I was sleeping," said Ron.

"Hermione's been distracted throughout the class, and it seems like she's starting to fancy Mustang. You think it has something to do with that note he gave her?"

"Is _that_ what's been bothering you? If you're so worried, then ask Ginny to get the note for you. Now sod off, I'm trying to get some sleep in before next class." Harry sighed, was he over thinking things? He decided he would do what Ron suggested and ask Ginny to secretly _borrow_ the note that evening. The bell suddenly rang, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. The whole class began moving again as they packed their things and walked out of the room.

Roy hadn't been able to meet up with Riza again for several classes since History of Magic. He didn't know why, but he was nervous in this school without Riza near him. It was partly because he was worried for her but he couldn't put his finger on the other reason. Roy let it slide. He was finally able to see her again in the last class.

"Transfiguration," said Professor McGonagall, "this year we will do much more difficult exercises than you have ever done in your past years. We may be able to start on human transfiguration near the end of the year if we move quickly. To do so I expect every one of you to work hard and pay attention during class. I will not tolerate laziness at all this year."

"As if she ever does," whispered Ron, earning a grin from Harry and a disapproving look from Hermione.

"Now, this class we will be focusing on…"

Roy's eyes were narrowed; he was furious. Transfiguration with living things? Animals and even humans? He was especially disgusted with the human transfiguration. How could these people speak so calmly about mutating human bodies? His hands gripped hard onto his chair. His arms and legs shook, not enough so that the other people in the room could see. However, Riza noticed his discomfort and put her hand on his white knuckles. Roy relaxed his grip and stopped shaking, reassured by Riza's touch, but his displeasure remained. Human transmutation was forbidden, and transfiguration was the same as transmutation. He remembered those nights after the Ishbal war. Sleep would escape him and when he did manage to fall asleep images of what he had done would plague him. Those times were the worst. He had actually had tried to see if he could do human transmutation. But he would always back out, his cowardice claiming him. If Maes hadn't come by that night… Roy didn't want to think about it. Instead, he turned his attention back to Professor McGonagall. She was about to demonstrate what they were to do that day.

"And so, take your animal and," she swished her wand in an intricate pattern, "and end with a flick." The cat in front of her instantly morphed into some sort of amphibian, with a spoon for a tail. Roy felt Riza's hand suddenly go rigid, and realized his hand was tensed as well. Around them, students were astounded and they 'ooh'-ed and 'ahh'-ed; some even clapped.

"Remember students, be creative, imagine the most amazing animal you can think of and try to create it. Mind you, try not to make it too big. Points will be awarded for the most magnificent."

Riza received a ferret and Roy received a golden puppy. Riza looked around and saw the students waving their wands and changing their animals in to insane creatures. Some failed of course, Neville Longbottom's pigeon became a living balloon as it floated into the air, its eyes darting this way and that. Riza took out her wand and found her hand shaking. What was this madness? Magic was too reckless, too unpredictable, too great. She missed her guns, they were much simpler than this. Their deathly coolness and their parts that fitted together just so made her feel secure, even though they brought about death.

She looked at her superior officer. He had it worse than her. She could guess what was going through his mind. His eyes seemed scared. His emotional turmoil was reflected in his eyes. The wand in his hand quivered no matter how much he tried to steady it. If seeing others do it affected him so bad, Riza could only imagine how much damage it would do to Roy if he morphed the animal in front of him into something else. She took Roy's hand and lowered it as she smiled at him. He looked at her, traces of sweat shining on his forehead, and smiled weakly back. His face suddenly contorted in pain and he let out a grunt. Roy then passed out into Riza's arms. Riza was alarmed and, without knowing it, yelled, "Colonel!" The class turned to her in confusion.

"Er… I mean, Roy!" Riza corrected herself. All the female students gasped or screamed as they gripped each other in worry. Professor McGonagall silenced them.

"All right, that's quite enough. Ms. Hawkeye, please take Mustang to Madam Pomfrey. The rest of you, get back to your animals."

Needless to say, the rest of the class wasn't as productive for the rest of the period. The girls were all too worried to do any work and the guys talked about Roy in a smug tone. They knew he wasn't as tough as he let on. Minerva McGonagall decided it was too much trouble to try to get the class refocused after she had tried several times. Hermione kept glancing at the door, which aroused further suspicion in Harry and Ron. They decided to question her later.

Meanwhile, Roy had woken up, much to Riza's relief. Madam Pomfrey had explained to her that he had fainted because of his liver, and that the pain was probably caused by some kind of emotional distress. She looked like she wanted to ask why Roy would have such intense feelings, but she left them alone and went back into her office.

"You had me so worried Roy," said Riza.

"I'm sorry. That class was too much for me. Maybe we could talk to the Headmaster... but would he allow it? And, the kids here might get suspicious. Those three pipsqueaks and their group are already suspicious."

"Roy, I'm sure the Headmaster would understand, and about the students… well, we can think up a believable excuse." Reassured by Riza's words, Roy got up and walked towards the door. Riza walked behind him. Roy suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her up beside him. She looked up at him in surprise. He smiled down at her.

"Walk beside me. Don't stay behind." Riza smiled and obeyed. The two walked back to the Great Hall for dinner, hands intertwined. Riza's feelings were surfacing, her affection for her Colonel took over and she laid her head on his shoulder. Roy was startled at first, but he let her keep her head there. At the first sight of another person however, they quickly distanced themselves, looking away from each other. The student looked suspiciously at the two and ran off, undoubtedly to tell the other females. Riza looked back worriedly, but Roy put his hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"It's okay. We can sort it out later." The two walked into the Great Hall, which was now full of students eating and talking, and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. The females immediately turned their heads towards the pair, namely Roy, and giggled. Roy ignored their whispers but Riza's patience was getting thin. Anymore of this constant giggling would drive her over the deep end! Riza just pushed around the food on her plate, some of which Roy had tried to make her eat himself. To that gesture Riza simply pushed him away. Sensing Riza's displeasure in the Great Hall, Roy quickly wolfed down his dinner, albeit painfully, and half dragged his 1st Lieutenant out the door. Riza was too confused to process what was happening thoroughly and so failed to make a reaction. Many heads turned to the door, some of the faces had frowns or pouts while others seemed bewildered as one would expect.

By the time Riza had collected her wits, Roy had already managed to take her to the stone gargoyle that protected Dumbledore's office.

* * *

"I demand you let us through immediately!" yelled Roy, frustrated from having to argue with a stupid gargoyle that refused to budge. The sculpture asked for the password again, sending Roy close to a mental explosion. Just then, of all people, Snape walked into the hallway, drawn in by the commotion. When he came to the scene of the angry shouting, he looked back and forth between the gargoyle and Roy before concluding that since Roy was not a member of the Slytherin house it was most certainly all his fault. And in Snape's twisted and severely biased mind, this made complete sense. The action that followed this logic had Roy's ear in between Snape's long white fingers as he was dragged to Professor McGonagall's office. Riza walked obediently behind.

The scene brought forth many different responses from the students who were now walking back to their dormitories. The girls were, of course, huddled in their groups, all making a fuss about Roy's ear and how much it must hurt. Some were giddy as they imagined just what kind of rebellious act Roy had done. Most of the guys, however, looked smug as they saw the supposed powerful exchange student being brought down a peg or two. Roy muttered darkly.

"If we were in Ametris… trouble would not be able to define your situation."

When they finally reached Professor McGonagall's office, Roy's ear was not just red, it was **red**. Roy massaged it as Professor Snape explained to the other professor what had happened. Although the account was biased and extremely inaccurate, Roy kept his mouth shut. When Snape had finally left, Roy walked up to Professor McGonagall's desk and rested his hand on the edge.

"We need to speak with the Headmaster," he said.

"Professor Dumbledore had told me to help you… and also to keep a close eye on you. What do you need to see him for?"

"We have our reasons. I do not have to tell you anything." Roy used the same line on her as he did for Madam Pomfrey. Professor McGonagall gave a resigned sigh and motioned for the two of them to follow her. They walked briskly through the now empty corridors and stood in front of the gargoyle that Roy had not long ago wanted to kick.

"Cockroach Clusters," said McGonagall, clearly. Roy made a face, remembering those strange things he saw in the candy store. Without telling them to follow, Professor McGonagall silently went through the opening that was created. Roy stood in amazement at the sight that awaited him. Enormous, spiraling, stone stairs snaked their way up to two large wooden doors. They turned the golden handles of the door and entered into a grand office. Several strange silver contraptions whistled on a small spindly table. Portraits of past headmasters followed the pair with their eyes, whispering to each other. Professor McGonagall stopped in front of a large wooden desk. Albus Dumbledore sat behind it and looked intently at Roy before sighing.

"Well? I suppose you came to request something."

"That's right," Roy answered, "We can't continue with Transfiguration classes."

"I know I promised not to question your motives, but I feel I need to know the reason for this request."

"Alright. Our reason? Human transmutation, it is the same as human transfiguration, and it was forbidden in our country, Ametris. However, even though using animals were somewhat allowed, something was needed to make chimeras, I can't say that it is right. And so, if you could allow us…" Dumbledore nodded.

"Sit down, I think we need to talk," said Dumbledore. After Roy and Riza were seated he began to talk again.

"I think I need to know your situation. First off, that way I would know if I could be of any assistance. Second, to be honest, I do not fully trust you." All three smiled at this. McGonagall had left some time ago.

"I agree, and I think Riza does. Although she has almost no jurisdiction over this decision," said Roy, smiling at Riza. Riza remained passive, although if she had no self-control she would most likely be spouting indignant, partly incoherent phrases. Dumbledore looked at them, slightly perplexed.

"You see Professor, we are not what we seem," said Riza.

"Yes. These bodies do not reflect our real ages. It seems so long ago but back in Amestris, we were part of the military. I had a high position and Hawkeye here was my subordinate along with a few others. Alchemy was what I did best"

"Alchemy you say?"

"That's right, although from what I know, it is different from your world's. For one thing, we have Equivalent Exchange and we also use transmutation circles."

"You keep talking about your homeland Ametris. What was it like there?" asked the interested headmaster.

"Our country, is in a sad state, are you sure you want to hear about it? It is a distressing situation and a long story."

"I am sure I am capable." Roy sighed before continuing.

:Well, as I said, our country is in a sad state," began Roy, "Ametris was once a beautiful place; it seemed nothing would ever throw a wrench into our peaceful lives. Alchemy was used for the people and it was always in the centre of things; it was my truth. I don't know when the corruption and troubles began to take place, but it all escalated into a full blown war against the Ishbalans soon after I had entered the military academy. I'm sorry. Did I say war? It was a massacre.

"The Ishbalans were a dark-skinned, red-eyed people who worshipped their god, Ishbala. They were very religious and they hated alchemy. The military sent soldiers to repress a supposed revolt and there one of them accidently shot an Ishbalan child, although I am skeptical that it was an accident. That was the initial point of the war. As the war progressed, our supplies were running out and too many soldiers had been killed. And so, Fuhrer Bradley called upon us State Alchemists. We were the dogs of the military, doing what we were told. State Alchemists had passed the exams and were the top alchemists. I can never forgive myself for what I had done. Lives were wiped out by the masses and were never identified and buried with respect. But even with the alchemists, the war was dragging on for too long. And so we used philosopher stones to enhance our alchemic abilities and won the war. Now only small tribes of Ishbalans are left of the once great civilization. Discrimination and hatred continues between the two races. Before I came to this world, I was, along with few others, discovering the horrifying truth behind this massacre and the military's corruption.

"I was ordered by my superiors to find a way to open the Gate, or the Doors of Truth. As Hawkeye and I were traveling through I did some alchemy to stop these strange black hands from taking away Riza. We were knocked off-course by the alchemic reaction and were thrust down another way that we never knew existed. That's how we ended up in the world. This is the world beyond the second door out of the Gate. I now need to find a way to get us back to Ametris so that we can help our comrades."

When Roy finished his story Dumbledore let it sink in. He realized how much this boy, no, man had to go through and how much he had seen. The sadness and regret of Roy's life was reflected in his eyes and mesmerized the headmaster. They made Roy look much older than he was supposed to be, perhaps this was his true age? He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Roy.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I did not tell you all the details, but even though I said I would tell you my situation and story, I can't tell you them. They are much too precious and dangerous."

"I understand. I will assist you any way I can. You may have a free block during Transfiguration; it should give you time to research. The teachers will not bother you," said Professor Dumbledore, reading Roy's thoughts.

"Thank you." Roy and Riza stood up to leave.

"Oh yes, and Roy? Try not to break too many hearts," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. Roy grinned

"I'm afraid I can't fully keep that promise sir," he said as he walked towards the door.

"Ah, one more thing," Roy stopped dead in his tracks at Dumbledore's voice. Riza looked at Roy who was facing the headmaster, "Who are you really?"

Roy smirked and raised a gloved hand, the transmutation circle turned to the wizard.

"Colonel Roy Mustang. The Flame Alchemist." And with that, Roy left the office. Riza walked beside him and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

_-Hello to all again! I bet you thought I was going to give up on this. Well I DIDN'T! Although it was painful to write and I was procrastinating on it... I hope you readers haven't given up on me! (PS. I really really dislike this chapter. It's like.. ew.) To the story!-

* * *

**6.**_

"Ron… RON!" The carrot top bolted awake, toppling off his bed. Tangled in sheets, he looked up at his offender.

"Waddyerwan?" he asked groggily. Harry grinned down at his best friend.

"Ginny got the note." Ron became wide eyed. Ginny came out from behind Harry, triumphantly holding up a folded and worn piece of note paper. After several attempts over the course of three weeks, ranging from asking politely to trying to wrestle it from Hermione, they finally had it in their hands. All three grinning wildly peered at the piece of paper. What kind of dastardly ingenious love poem could Mustang have written? Or had it in fact been a song instead? What in the world could have he written to get their bushy haired friend to completely, yet still unknowingly, fall for him after what he had done? The possibilities swirled through each of the teens' heads, making them dizzy.

"Open it! Hurry up," said Ron in an impatient hiss. Ginny glared at her brother before slowly unfolding the note she held preciously in her hands. The atmosphere between the three was thick with anticipation. Harry was practically quivering with excitement. What had that guy written?

Finally the whole note was unfolded and the three almost fainted.

"Sorry?! SORRY?!" half yelled Ron. Harry shushed him when Seamus Finnigan snorted. Ginny was still staring at the single word on the page.

"Is this what snagged Hermione? Ginny, are you _sure_ this is the right note?" asked Harry.

"Can't you see its condition? Of course it is!"

The three grumbled and shook their heads before going back to bed. They were all disappointed. What was Hermione thinking? And in the dead of the night, as the three friends drifted off to sleep, said girl woke to the sound of footfall on the hard wooden floor.

"Where are you going?" asked Hermione. Riza turned around to face Hermione who was now out of her bed. It had been a while since she saw the blonde in the room since she was first assigned there. Riza stared at Hermione expressionlessly.

"That, is none of your business. Go back to sleep," she ordered and began moving towards the stairs.

"No. I demand you tell me where you're going and what you're up to. Or… or… I'll tell Professor McGonagall." The words sounded and felt childish in her mouth, but it was the best she could think of this late at night. Riza turned around again, one eyebrow raised.

"It doesn't matter to me. I am not completely bound to the same rules as you are."

"Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean? Hey, wait!" Riza was already descending the stairs; Hermione was right behind her. She noticed the blonde girl moved very quickly and struggled to keep up. She was taken aback at the sight that greeted her at the bottom of the stairs, although she didn't know why.

"Riza Hawkeye," said Roy, "You're usually earlier than I am. What's the occasion?"

"I'm sorry, _Colonel_. But tonight I had some, shall I say, difficulties." Riza jerked her head towards Hermione, who, in surprise, had not thought to go back. Roy was wearing his blue uniform again, though his time his jacket was gone and his shirt was hastily and messily done up; the top buttons undone. And, though Hermione hadn't noticed it at first, Riza had on her uniform as well, a black t-shirt instead of a jacket. Roy looked towards Hermione with little interest.

"That's your excuse? Hm… you must be losing your touch." Riza stood silent.

"I'm _not _a thing," said Hermione, regaining her voice, "And I want answers." Roy simply glanced at her before beginning to walk away with Riza. Hermione took a step before Roy whisked around and stared at her intensely.

"It's safer for you not to get involved with us. Go back to bed and stop asking about things you can't hope to comprehend." His eyes were cold and bore through her. She had forgot how intimidating he could be. He didn't seem to be angry. Hermione couldn't figure out what Roy was expressing. She was as confused as ever.

"But-"

"Go. Don't follow us. It'll be better if you don't get close to us, you'll put yourself in danger if you do." Hermione was mad now. He was saying these things to her as if she didn't know danger. She was the one who helped Harry and Ron through all those fights and struggles against Voldemort among other smaller things. To tell her about danger was almost laughable.

"You don't think I know danger? Well I've been through lots of it these past years! I bet you've never really fought someone for your life and others. I bet you've never come close to killing someone! Harry lost his godfather you idiot, I bet you never had to go through something like that!" said Hermione, with suppressed anger, "You're just a stuck up git who _thinks _he's got it bad."

Roy had stayed silent through out her rant, eyes cold like steel and narrowed, his anger rising.

"You're wrong," said Riza, "You may have gone through all that, I know, I've heard, but you haven't seen the extent of human cruelty. We have done and seen things that you can't imagine. We are no longer innocent like you."

"But Harry…!"

"You think that Potter's the only one who has suffered a loss? Roy-"

"RIZA! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Riza gasped. She knew she had gone too far. Roy had never gotten over Maes Hughes's death. She had been there for him on the nights he cried for his best friend. Those nights always hurt her deeply. Roy's anguished face was something she never liked to see.

"I'm sorry." Roy turned to Hermione.

"Don't put yourself so high just because you've fought for your life. You… you've never felt the pains of war, you haven't even come close to killing someone. The crimson life-liquid of another person forcefully spilt by you has never stained your hands," Roy's voice was shaking, "The sight of things worse than death has never bore into your eyes. Cruelty that cannot be imagined has never touched your life. So please don't think you've seen the worst there could be. Now go back to your bed and stay there. I can't afford anymore wasted time tonight." With that Roy turned around and walked away with his back straight. Riza followed behind, her face in a sad frown. She knew how difficult that life had been for Roy and her. And will be again once again when they get back. _If_ they ever could get back.

Hermione felt like a small naïve child as she stood on the stairs and watched the pair leave. She felt lost. All those years she thought she was one of the few people who had lived through hard and difficult things. But now she's told there are such cruelties that not even the Order of the Phoenix had seen yet. And those sins had completely stained and soiled those two people's whole beings. Hermione slumped down on to the stairs not knowing what to do.

* * *

Dumbledore had given them permission to use a classroom for the full school year. It was a small classroom with dusty shelves and a few desks. A single candle dimly lit the room and the frustrated face of Roy Mustang.

"Agh…" he groaned flinging a small notebook at the wall. It connected with a smack.

"What's wrong?" asked Riza, retrieving the book.

"It's useless," Roy looked disappointedly at his research notebook.

"What do you mean? How can that become worthless? That has years of work contained in it!"

"What's happened is… Well. This world we're in is the second door. It is isolated from the other two 'doors'. There is no natural connection with our world in any way except for the Gate. Meaning…" Roy sighed, "Meaning the way back to the Gate is opened with a completely different array. We're playing by a whole new set of rules."

"But that means…"

"Yeah. No matter how talented in alchemy I am, we're going to have to stay here longer than I had planned. Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Roy picked up his notebook and laughed bitterly.

"Well, at least I've solved the mystery about our ages. Several years were cut off as our toll. They're what we paid with. And my liver of course," Roy touched his side unconsciously, "Riza…"

"Yes?"

"Never mind. I guess… I guess I'd better start by gathering books tomorrow. Yes… I suppose that's my only option."

Roy got up and stretched a little before he felt two arms pull him into an awkward, loose, embrace. Riza-after realizing what she had just done, immediately let go. Roy was startled at first, but he smiled slightly when he understood what she meant.

"I- I'm sorry. That was crossing the line. I'm re-"

Roy put a hand on her shoulder. No words were needed. He knew she understood what he had wanted to say. They would get through this. They knew they could rely on one another.

* * *

It was Saturday morning and Ginny was fed up trying to wake her friend. So she promptly sat on her.

"Oof!"

"Get out of bed this instant!" cried Ginny into Hermione's ear.

"Go away…"mumbled the tired brunette.

"No, we have to thoroughly interrogate you about last night! That was you at the stairs, wasn't it?" Hermione was still groggy as she was dragged out of bed. Ginny forced clothes on Hermione and took her to the empty common room where the other two were playing wizard chess.

"Finally Hermione, what took so long? You're usually the earliest one up," said Ron as he moved one of his white pawns. Harry matched his move with a pawn of his own. Several of his pieces shouted criticisms for this move.

"SO!" said Ginny loudly, bringing her hand down on the table and scattering the chess pieces. The white and black figures yelled obscenities at her. Harry and Ron settled for a less offensive method of showing their displeasure as they reset their game.

"What do you mean 'so'?" asked Hermione, who was still half-asleep.

"'What do you mean 'so'?'" mimicked Ginny, "I mean, 'SO, what in the world happened last night?'"

"Oh. Um… er…"hesitated Hermione.

"Well…?" Harry and Ron had abandoned their game and were looking at Hermione expectantly. Hermione sighed.

"I… I ran into Mustang and Hawkeye last night."

"Really?"

"What do you mean by 'ran into'?"

"Well… it wasn't really coincidental. I was sleeping when I heard the floorboards creak. So I opened my eyes to see what had caused the noise. When I saw that it was Hawkeye I confronted her," she shook her head, "She… told me to go back to bed. Of course I wanted to know what she was up to so I followed her out to the stairs. That's when I met Ro- Mustang as well. They were both wearing those uniforms again." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"So since when was he 'Roy'?" he accused. Hermione was ticked that Harry had only picked out that small insignificant detail.

"I said Mustang!" she snapped, "Honestly… Anyway, I had a little row with those two."

"A _little_ row?" interrupted Harry.

"_Will you PLEASE let me finish?!_," said Hermione angrily through her teeth, "Thank you. As I was saying, we had a row. I told Mustang, point blank, that I wanted to know what was going on. Believe me, I was suspicious. They seemed military professionals. Hawkeye called him… _Colonel_. I felt so small and… and…_stupid_ after we fought. Like I didn't know anything."

"Nonsense! You're the smartest person in our class!" Hermione looked sadly at Harry.

"You of all people should know that books don't tell you everything. What do I do? Memorize, that's all. But… those two… they've gone through so much… already. It's as if… they're older than they look. Hawkeye shouted that Roy had a loss as well when I yelled about you losing Sirius Harry. Sorry, I was just so mad at them for saying that I didn't know danger. Me! Not know danger even after I've faced the Death Eaters… I'm sorry," Hermione looked at Harry, who remained expressionless. "She didn't say who he lost... Mustang stopped her. They're doing dangerous stuff. Why else would they meet at night and be so secretive? They're trouble you guys. If we get involved with them… I don't know what'll happen."

"How do you know they're dangerous? Maybe they were just feeling adventurous. It's not new to you Hermione. You guys have always snuck out at night; Roy couldn't possibly be up to something more dangerous than You-Know-Who!" Hermione couldn't believe it. Ginny was questioning her judgment, and on top of that she was defending Roy.

"They've killed people," Hermione whispered. Heavy silence spread across the room. An argument died on Ginny's lips.

"Killed?" asked Ron meekly, breaking the silence. Hermione nodded slowly.

"That's impossible! How could they kill more than one person without it being on the news?" asked Harry.

"I don't know… but in any case they didn't seem to like killing at all. They looked… guilty… remorseful."

"You know what?" asked Harry.

"What?"

"I think it's time to break out my dad's invisibility cloak again."

"So soon?" asked Ron grinning, "And it's not even January yet."

The foursome planned to sneak out that night. But until then, there was still a whole day ahead of them and so they sat around the fire and mulled over their thoughts until lunch came around. As they headed down to the Great Hall together, the clatter of the utensils and the faint smell of food beckoned them. Ron, who wasn't able to contain his hunger anymore, ran down the steps with Ginny chasing him from behind, telling him to stop 'acting like a pig'. But in the middle of their antics, as they rounded a corner, the two Weasley siblings crashed unexpectedly into two other figures in blue. This was how Ginny found herself in an accidental lip-lock with none other than Roy Mustang.

Could this day start off any better? Ginny had a shocked expression still plastered on her face but her mind had already fallen into a sort of, happy state. It was Ron who pulled her away from the black haired colonel and glared at him. His sister didn't very much like his 'rude interruption'. She decided she would punch him later in the day. Right now her first priority was to look as composed as she could in front of Roy. But what was that interesting outfit he was wearing? Ginny doubted it was the latest trend. And Riza was wearing it too. How odd. These clothes must have been what Hermione was talking about. She inwardly giggled at how mature Roy looked compared to her brother and Harry.

However right behind Ginny was someone who wasn't as happy as she was. Hermione was beet red with embarrassment from last night. Riza looked over at her before looking away, quite disinterested. Hermione's patience was wearing thin. How could they not make any sign of recognition? Twitch. Was she so unimportant? Twitch. Did Roy not like her as much as she li-… Twitch. Hermione had gone an even deeper shade of red when she realized she almost said she fancied that despicable murderer. Oh yes. She hated him with a passion. Yes.

"Don't touch my sister you bloody git!" yelled a furious Ron.

"Hm. It wasn't as if I started that," said Roy, smoothly, having already regained his composure. He stood up and dusted himself off, "Not at all. In fact your… sister is it? I've seen her, hiding behind drapes. Never knew she was this bold."

Ginny blushed violently under his gaze while silently enjoying his attention. She thought she was well concealed at all times. Ron sputtered unintelligibly, his ears a fiery red.

"Roy…" said Riza gently.

"Right. Thanks for the wake up, you two." Roy glanced down at the two red-heads with a smirk one more time before heading off in the opposite direction.

It had just registered in Hermione's mind as Roy and Riza walked past her. Ginny had kissed Roy. Her jaw dropped in shock. Ginny… and Roy? She was too confused to be angry.

"I... We should get to the Great Hall before breakfast is over," she said, trying to hide her shaking voice. Ron helped up Ginny; both still dangerously red. The four of them descended the stairs. Hermione faltered on the first step. She steadied herself by gripping the handrail. Harry looked back; eyes quizzical.

"Are you okay Hermione?" he looked at his friend concerned.

"Yeah…" she started, "Um, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I um… never mind." Harry patted her shoulder, eyes still reflecting concern, before turning around and continuing down the stairs. Hermione followed close behind. She still couldn't believe that Ginny had stolen a kiss from Roy. Her mind reflected anger, but in truth, all she could do was feel betrayed. But she couldn't blame Ginny, who didn't know anything past her own infatuation with the mysterious boy, to pick up on her feelings at the moment. However, Hermione could still feel an uncomfortable, heavy weight on her chest. She was unable to lie to herself any longer. That kiss finally broke the wall of denial she had been creating around that subject. She liked him. She REALLY liked him. Now, what was she going to do?

* * *

_- I told you this was a very... ew chapter. Nonetheless I will be awaiting your reviews. So, Review! Review! Review! (they help me write more and procrastinate less.. k?) D -_


	7. Chapter 7

-_AHHHHHH OMG OMG OMG I'm soooooo sooo sooo very sorry for not updating in eons. But here it finally is. I'm so amazingly sorry, i know what it feels like to wait for an update... This is actually a second version of chapter 7. My first version was almost complete until my computer failed me and i had to reset everything. So i ended up losing chapter 7, the chapter i struggled through my writer's block for. After that i didn't want to write anymore. It was too depressing. But i did get a few reviews during that time, and that got me to write this short chapter up. It's much too rushed and OOC in my opinion so i am so sorry 10 times over. This is mot my best work. I'm so sorry for making it so short, and i hope all of you aren't too disappointed. Thank you!!-_

* * *

7. 

Happiness, relief, pain, sadness, anger, and even frustration. Riza Hawkeye had felt many things when she stood by her Colonel. But there was one feeling she could never get used to. Jealousy.

She was jealous of the time the Colonel spent with other women. Jealous of how much money and effort and shameless flattery he spent on them, even when he knew he would leave them in tears the next day. She was jealous because he never seemed to understand that she was a woman who wanted love when he understood this so perfectly in others. His love. She did not only want to be his loyal subordinate. She wanted him to flatter her, caress her, and, dare she say it, kiss her, even if he would leave her. Riza had always wanted him, since the day she had met him on the battlefield so many years back. But Roy Mustang had no time for girls who did not fawn on him. He never had time for anything but one night stands.

Riza knew how to keep her emotions in check, only letting a little emotion slip from time to time. She had never bit the colonel's head off for taking all those young women out for dinners and movies. Never would she let her actions be founded on unprofessional motives. Ever.

But ever since the two had crossed the Gate, it had become increasingly difficult to mask her true feelings. It shattered a piece of her heart every time she saw Roy with his arm around a girl's shoulder. Every whisper of gossip about a girl's date with him was like a needle in her chest. Still she tried. He would never know.

Then this happened. Roy had kissed the Weasly girl. And seeing was definitely different from hearing. Yes, Riza had heard many rumours of the latest make-out fests with Roy. But seeing this, a simple accidental brushing of the lips, tore her heart in half. She felt the tears pushing to fall freely.

How could Roy be so nonchalant about this whole incident? She stood silently as Roy spoke of the kiss flippantly. She was silent when they walked away, she was silent as they both changed out of their military attire, and she was silent now as they walked back to the Great Hall.

"Riza? Are you okay? You seem a little… pale." Riza was startled by Roy's voice. Had she really shown her unsettled emotion?

"What do you mean? I'm fine!" She answered, a little too quickly. She walked slightly ahead, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. Roy had noticed that Riza was not herself; the bright alertness in her eyes had dulled. She had barely noticed when a young third year boy bumped into her. Concerned, he reached out and grasped her wrist.

"Hawkeye," said Roy, in a firm tone, but quickly softened his gaze and voice, concerned, "Why have you been so bothered these past few days? You've never been like this Riza, I'm getting worried. What are you not telling me?"

Riza turned around and forced herself to look the Colonel in the eye.

"There is nothing wrong with me Colonel," she sighed, "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Riza. What is it?"

"Nothing! _I told you it's nothing_!" Riza voice was beginning to rise. Roy was getting mad.

"_How come you can't tell me anything?!_" he hissed, "_Look at me and tell me!_"

"_No! There's nothing to say!_" Roy's grip tightened.

"_LET GO OF ME!"_ yelled Riza.

_ SMACK_

The sound of a hard slap rang in the suddenly silent hallway. All movement stopped as every student stared at the pair. A person coughed. Roy stood, shocked, holding his hand over his left cheek. He couldn't believe the woman who swore to stay by his side, had just slapped him. Riza drew her hand back to her chest and stared at her commanding officer; eyes wide. Her hand stung from the impact. No, worse. It was as if contact with the man's face had burned the very skin of her palm and fingers

"I… I…"

"Riza…" breathed Roy.

Riza ran off towards the Gryffindor tower; tears beginning to fall. _'Idiot!'_ she thought. She was confused her self as to why she would do such a thing. No matter where they were, Roy Mustang was still a colonel; he was still ranked higher. Threatening was one thing, bodily hurting him was another.

* * *

Hermione was already longing for her bed and so was making her way back to the dormitories. The weight of the books she had just borrowed was an annoying reminder of the amount of homework ahead. However, all that she wanted to do was to lie in her bed for another hour. Homework could wait. 

As Hermione neared the room, she heard several sniffles. Pushing open the door slightly, she peered in to see Hawkeye, crying in her bed. Her blonde hair was let down and had several hairs out of place. Hermione leaned into the door. It let out a creak, alerting Riza of company. For a brief moment, her red, amber eyes met Hermione's, before she drew the curtains around her. Surprised, Hermione quietly made her way to her bed and lay there, contemplating what could have happened for the usually strong girl to fall to pieces.

* * *

It was already late night when Hermione woke up. Bleary eyed, she peered around the room. All the other girls seemed to be fast asleep. Hermione frowned- still thinking of the incident- at Ginny's mumbling, the only sound disturbing the silence. Except for a few rustles behind the curtain that blocked Riza's bed from view. It looked as if the blonde was changing; no doubt getting ready to meet Roy again. Hermione suddenly had an idea and a mischievous grin adorned her face. 

She climbed the stairs to the boy's dormitories, running as quickly, but silently, as she could. Quietly, she entered Harry and Ron's room and snuck up to Harry's side first .

"Harry… Harry… Wake up…" whispered Hermione. Harry mumbled incoherently and swatted away an imaginary fly.

"_Harry!_" she hissed, shaking his shoulders, "_Wake up!_"

Harry slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the annoying source of hissing. Groping for his glasses, he attempted to smooth out his disheveled hair.

"Hermione?" he said, still squinting, "What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain on the way, there's no time, Hawkeye and Mustang are meeting again tonight. Quick, bring the invisibility cloak."

Finding his glasses, Harry put them on and followed after Hermione, cloak in hand.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"We're following Mustang and Hawkeye," she replied, intent on not losing them.

"Why?"

"Aren't you curious about them?"

"And what about Ron?" he asked groggily.

"There's no time, we'll miss them," she said, grabbing the cloak and covering their bodies with it.

They had made it just in time. Hawkeye and Mustang had just rounded a corner. Hermione could see that they had their blue uniforms on once again. Motioning to Harry, they followed the two, matching their pace. The two students followed more closely as Mustang headed for an empty classroom. He opened the door and let the blonde enter first, and before he closed the door, Hermione and Harry rushed in, careful not to brush against anything. They crept to a corner and watched as the blue clothed pair began to talk.

* * *

Roy had realized Riza was still acting strange, maybe even more so because of that morning. When they had met at the bottom of the stairs as usual, she had simply walked ahead of him instead of greeting him with a smile. And when he ran to catch up to her, she did not acknowledge his presence. _'She did not even comment on the fact that I had just opened the door for her, like a true gentleman!'_ he thought, indignantly. He had felt something flutter past his ankles, but disregarded it for a simple draft in the hallway. Roy walked over to Riza and sat down next to her. 

"Sir, why are you staring at me?"

"No particular reason. Oh wait, maybe it's because you've been acting strange, since this morning," he said, yawning. Riza stiffened.

"Now why would you say that?"

"There are a number of reasons. You calling me 'sir' again is only one of them."

"R-Roy, let's just drop it," she said, finally making eye contact with him.

"You're hurt," he said.

"You're mistaken."

"No, no I'm not. What have I done now Riza? I don't think I've done anything today that has upset you this much before."

"Maybe today was just my breaking point… All that I've been holding in…" Riza looked away.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing…"

"Damn it! Riza! Tell me!" Roy brought his hand down on the desk with a bang. He looked at her startled face and spoke softer.

"Please, what good is it for me to be here for you if you won't open up?" he asked, and pulled Riza into a comforting embrace.

"R-Roy… Why am I being like this? Like such a school girl," Riza smiled sadly, "Do you think that our bodies weren't the only things that became younger? That's it, isn't it? The only reason I'm acting like this…" Tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"It's okay, you can cry you know…" whispered Roy.

"No, I'm fine now," said Riza. She smiled. She wouldn't cry in front of her colonel. She had done that too many times. This was nothing compared to those times in Ishbal.

"Now get to work Roy."

Roy grunted in rely and slumped back into his chair.

* * *

Harry watched the exchange of emotions between the two mysterious people. He was confused. In the day they had never acted so close to each other. The girl would always reprimand Mustang, but would always be careful to stay, it seemed to Harry, almost professional. He looked to Hermione to find her unsettled. 

Hermione was mesmerized as she watched their embrace. Even though she knew it was wrong to witness this, she couldn't look away. So this was the extent of their relationship. For some reason, amidst her envy, she felt a small flicker of…relief? Hope? Relief that Roy's embrace had no other meaning than friendship. Hope, because maybe, just maybe, Hermione still had the chance to win Roy's heart, though she felt wicked admitting such a thing. She continued to watch the curious pair, not noticing Harry's steady gaze.

"Riza, come quick!" Roy called. Riza walked to his side and leaned over his shoulder, looking at his messy scrawl.

"I've figured something out," said Roy excitedly, "This world uses a mixture of our alchemy, the one used in Amestris that is, and Rentanjutsu."

"Rentanjutsu?" inquired Riza.

"Yes. Rentanjutsu. It's a form of alchemy they use in the East," Roy said, "In any case, I need to learn it before I do anything more. Do you think you can search for material on this?"

"Right away sir."

Roy smiled. Maybe this little trip wasn't so bad. He would be able to one up Full Metal once again with Rentanjutsu when he returned.

_ Rentanjutsu?_ Hermione and Harry exchanged looks. Never had they heard of such a thing. The only time they had heard of alchemy in the magical world was in first year, when they had learned of Nicolas Flamel. But, Roy seemed to be going so much deeper than what little they knew. Perhaps a visit to the library was in order.

Roy worked for another hour before closing his books. He stood up and stretched before collecting his notes and walking out of the classroom with Riza close behind. Harry and Hermione slipped out and walked briskly back to the Gryffindor tower.

Just then a shadow crept out of a darkened hallway, startling the duo. Both of their eyes widened in horror. _Snape_. The greasy potions professor peered around, shining his light up and down the hallway. The two friends, fearing that Snape would notice the shadow cast if light were to be shined on them, shied away from the light, constantly praying that he would quickly leave.

Soon enough, the professor left, and they quickly scurried to their rooms, not wanting to come across more teachers. Hermione said goodnight to Harry and crawled silently into her bed, noticing Hawkeye was already asleep. She grabbed her quill and quickly scribbled down a note on her hand before lying down to sleep.

'_Rentanjutsu?'_

* * *

_-Thank you to everyone who has waited for this new chapter! It is finally done! Please review like you always wonderfully do! I will be working on chapter 8. Hopefully it will be done by the end of summer because i'm quite busy this year... Hopefully no one forgot this small story! Hearts to all! 3-_


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